By TaRessa Stovall

Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,  a writer since age 7, and an acclaimed author whose works include the novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, and The Thing Around Your Neck, a collection of stories about Nigerians coping with corruption and life as immigrants, was challenged to give the talk of her life in under 20 minutes.

Such is the challenge for notable thinkers at the TED Conference, offered in Long Beach and Oxford to, as their web site describes, “bring together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).” Previous TED speakers include Al Gore, Robin Williams and other opinion-shapers from around the world.

The result is nothing less than spellbinding. Adichie eloquently describes the dynamics and dangers of what she calls “the single story,” a one-dimensional point-of-view that keeps us from seeing our fellow humans and the world we share in their full context and complexity.

TaRessa Stovall is Managing Editor of TheDefendersOnline.